


Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

by Neferit



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Community: st_xi_kink, Community: strek_id_kink, Complete, Kink Meme, M/M, Prompt Fill, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-23
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 19:50:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6092127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neferit/pseuds/Neferit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the first time in centuries, he felt hope - hope that, judging by the reaction of the one who was his finally found soulmate, would soon be crushed.</p><p>Did he truly find his soulmate only to be rejected?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a [prompt](http://strek-id-kink.livejournal.com/1695.html?thread=704671#t704671) over at strek_kink meme over at LJ. It's long, and absolutely hit my Khirk feels.
> 
> Also, give me a second over which I whine about ridiculous community settings that obviously hate any kind of linking from me, thus rendering me incapable of linking my own damn work on the meme D: Talk about discouraging xD

 

**-o.O.o-**

**_“Hope is the thing with feathers_ **

**_That perches in the soul_ **

**_And sings the tune without the words_ **

**_And never stops at all.”_ **

**_-_ ** _Emily Dickinson_

Everyone calls him ‘captain’ until the Doctor finally calls him ‘Jim’. It actually caught his attention. ‘Jim’ is short for ‘James’. Could it be that his soulmate was not even born at all back then? Could it be that he was waiting here - in the far flung future - for Khan?

"James," Khan purrs, trusting his instincts, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." His hand is already thrust out for everyone to see and all he has to do is pull off the binding, let it flutter uselessly to the floor as his soulmate's name is revealed.

_ James Tiberius. _

The golden-haired captain scoffs, but rubs at the place where his is hidden nonetheless.

"My name is not John Harrison. In fact, my name is…,” he pauses for a second, allowing the tension go even tenser, if it would still be possible, “ _ Khan Noonien Singh _ ,” he says, recalling that the crew of the Enterprise would not likely know the truth and - there -  _ there _ is the response he was looking for with his reveal. The captain's mouth has slipped open slightly in surprise, fingers working absently to push back his sleeve and reveal his soulmate's name.

_ Khan Noonien. _

The prisoner grins triumphantly, a baring of teeth more than a smile. Beside his mate, the Vulcan and the doctor react in opposing ways - one going cold and the other hot. The Vulcan is carefully neutral and holds back any commentary, at least for the time being. The doctor is angry, protective, his eyes aflame, as he looks at him. He has no need. Khan will not harm his mate, especially now, when he already knows who he is.

His mate.

Oh, he wants him near, wants to touch him, to make sure this is all real, but James seems to be going into shock. Was it that bad, to have him as his soulmate?

Before anything can be said, James is turning around and nearly fleeing from the brig, the doctor hot at his heels, while the Vulcan lingers, giving him a calculating, emotionless glare.

“ There is something you should know. 23.27.46.11. Check those out, before you do anything else, or have someone to check them out. It’s just as important as my 72 reasons.”

Khan returns the Vulcan’s glare calmly afterwards; at least, as calmly as he can, now that his mate is clearly distressed, and he is completely powerless to do anything about it, since he is still stuck behind the power field. Then the Vulcan leaves as well, and Khan is left alone with his thoughts, and his soulmark pulsing hotly on his skin.

James.

He wills his mind to think of what he knows about the golden man. Son of George and Winona Kirk. Saviour of Earth. Genius. A repeated offender. Clever mind. Charismatic. Always ready to stand by his friends and family.

They are so alike, yet so different it makes Khan’s heart hurt in his chest as he sits down, and just  _ waits _ .

Waits for what is going to happen, if his soulmate just rejects him, as it looks to be about to happen.

**-o.O.o-**

“ Jim! Slow down, goddammit!”

Jim was half of mind just to lock himself in his quarters and not to get out, like, ever again, but the urgency in his friend’s voice made him slow down, allowing Bones to catch up with him. Neither of them said anything more, until they reached Jim’s quarters, and then, Jim just sat down on his bed and hid his face in his palms to take a shaking breath.

God- _ fucking _ -dammit.

As if it wasn’t enough that he had been searching for his soulmate for his whole life, always hoping to find him (always knowing it would be him and not her; no woman would be named Khan Noonien after all), and so far coming up empty handed.

Until now.

And now, his soulmate was a terrorist, blamed for bombing the Kelvin Archive in London and nearly killing most of the Admirals and Captains of the Starfleet, Chris one of them.

He actually had to blink back tears, when he remembered Chris, lying on the floor, blood trickling from his mouth as he desperately begged him not to leave him like so many other people. He hated how needy he sounded at the moment, looking at it from now, but at least Chris survived, if only barely; he still would have to spend more time back at hospital that he would have liked, but he would be so blissfully  _ alive _ afterwards…

_ Khan Noonien. _ His soulmate.

“ Bones,” he whispered when he felt the bed move under weight of another being sitting down at it. “Just what the hell am I supposed to do now?”

And Bones, bless the man for always knowing the right thing to say to distressed and vulnerable Jim, told him; his words few and right to the point, accompanied by a firm hug around the shoulders.

“ Go back to him, Jim. And tell him I have a very nasty hypo ready and am not afraid to use it.”

The unvoiced ‘I’ll be there, if you’ll need me’ was heard anyway, loud and clear.

**-o.O.o-**

James Tiberius is back in the brig, telling the guard to let the power field down, as he enters the cell. Khan Noonien is watching him closely, his eyes catching his every move like a bird of prey.

“ Dismissed,” James Tiberius tells to the guard, his voice strong and yielding no questions, so the man does exactly as he is commanded and goes outside the brig, waiting till he is summoned back.

“ I believe we have a lot of things to talk about,” the blue eyes turn back to him, and he soaks the attention like a sponge would soak water, or like a dog would welcome his owner’s attention.

“ That we have,” he says plainly, his lips forming an almost unnoticeable smile, as he watches his soulmate to cross the room and sit next to him – not close enough to feel his warmth, yet close enough not to feel isolated.

They speak, and both their soulmarks glow with warmth that is a slow acceptance, words flowing freely between them before the bridge calls.

“ Captain, there is a ship at warp coming close. And it’s not from the direction of Qonos.”

He knows exactly who it is, and a look at James tells him he has his own suspicions.

Their time is up. Admiral Marcus is there, demanding answers, and James, after contacting his engineer that opted to hand his commission in, instead of allowing Khan’s torpedoes on board on his watch, already knows that Marcus is certainly someone he doesn’t want to serve under; a warmonger in a time no one can afford to be divided between those who want war, and those who want to keep the things the way they are, watching the others behind the Neutral zone and holding the line, but not starting anything.

His own best friend and a blonde woman, whom Khan recognizes as Marcus’ daughter, had opened one of the torpedoes and found one of his family, and Khan’s heart warms a bit when he hears his friends and family are safe; or at least safe from Marcus, at the time being.

James has a plan ready; jumping into warp and fleeing their way as close to Earth as the Enterprise can manage, so no one would be able to overlook Vengeance; the ship Khan himself designed, and based on the very ship he’s at now.

Still it’s pointless, he knows it. Marcus easily reaches them, and knocks them out of warp, still a safe distance from Earth, and it’s only now that James understands that the man will stop at absolutely nothing until he has the war he desires so much, and the space is full of ship wrecks and floating dead bodies of those he views as enemies.

He begs for the life of his crew, offering himself to Marcus, and Khan’s heart gives a painful lurch, when for a moment he believes Marcus would be tempted by such an offer. Offer he himself would give, if it meant safety for his people, for his family.

There is nothing he wouldn’t do for his family, and now he knows James is exactly the same.

Marcus laughs into James’ face, and aims every weapon at Vengeance’s disposal at the smaller ship, and through the newly formed and tentative bond that stretches between him and James he can feel the resignation at the fate that is most likely to befall on them all, as Marcus’ daughter is transported off the Enterprise, screaming all the way.

Until the weapons fail to fire, and there is a new voice calling James’ name; accented, and fairly pissed off, but most welcome with the message.

The engineer James contacted got on board of Vengeance, and hacked their systems, and for a moment Khan is really impressed at the man’s abilities. Not everyone could do that, even if it is a short lived solution to the already big problem.

Then his soulmate comes with another plan. Board the Vengeance, with him, Khan, and disable Marcus.

They fly through the wreckage between the two ships, and Khan’s heart nearly stops when he hears James yelling through the comm that the screen on his helmet cracked and he is flying blind. He knows more than well that without the screen operational, there is absolutely no way he would find his way into the door this ‘Scotty’ man is supposed to open for them, and he fights his way to him, holding him close as the door open at the very last second, and finally, they are on board of Vengeance, and Marcus won’t know what hit him.

**-o.O.o-**

Jim knew all too well that Khan Noonien had one hell of a score (rather, a bunch of scores) to settle with Marcus; the man holding those closest to him as hostages, forcing Khan Noonien to design weapons of mass destruction for him and his war that supposedly was inevitable and the only way for the humanity (not Federation,  _ humanity _ ) to win was to be the ones to shoot first, before anyone else could get ready.

He just hoped that Khan would hold his fury, righteous as it were, in check, so Marcus could be exposed and held responsible for everything he did, for now, he finally started to see patterns of the cracks in the looking glass.

**-o.O.o-**

Khan was all too conscious of the presence of his soulmate behind him, as they (or rather, as he) fought their way to the bridge; the few men Marcus had at his disposal, when it came to operating the ship being absolutely no challenge to the furious augment.

The bridge is right before him; his nemesis just one door ahead, when James finally catches up with him. He can feel his eyes on himself, and knows all too well that the picture he paints is not pretty – bloodied knuckles, enraged grimace and every muscle in his body trembling with tension.

“ Noonien,” he says, laying his hand on Khan’s arm, feeling the tension in the muscle underneath. It’s strangely relieving to hear him say his name, even if the breath of urgency puts damper on everything Khan allows himself to feel right now. “Don’t kill him,” he says, his blue eyes all-seeing and searching, understanding and urgent, and Khan can feel his emotion warring each other in his head.

Without word, Khan steps up, James’ hand slipping from its hold and the door open.

Marcus is, like usual, so full of false bravado it drops from him like water falls from a faulty bottle. He pushes through the men between him and Marcus like a warm knife would through butter, James right behind him, the engineer lingering at the door, guarding their backs.

Marcus’ daughter is all that remains between them, and he closes his ears to her pleas not to hurt her father. She knows her father is beyond redemption, but she has to try nonetheless, and he can respect that. Instead of hurting her, like he wanted before he stepped in this room, he just pushes her aside; the motion much gentler than he would have thought himself capable now.

And then he stands before the old man, the bravado in his eyes slipping away, to give way to panic and fear. He pushes the hand holding a phaser, and his hands grip Marcus’ head; so weak and fragile in his grasp as he pushes the bones of his skull together, enjoying the feel of Marcus’ desperation as he uselessly tries to fight him off way more than he probably should.

“ _ You, _ ” he rasps, “you should have let me sleep.”

Marcus sees death in his eyes, but just before the skull would have cracked in his grip, he lets him go, and instead just punches him in the temple, rendering him unconscious, stumbling from the crumpled body in wavering steps, out of the bridge and into the corridors, his tormentor finally defeated, no longer able, nor allowed, to hurt him and his anymore.

He can hear James calling the Enterprise, and has Scott to transport as much personnel as he can to the Vengeance, but all he can focus on is how his breathing sounds really loud in his ears, completely taking over any other sound. James it talking to him now; he can see his mouth move, but his voice sounds as if coming from a great distance, and next thing he knows is vertigo that overcomes his senses, and the floor that is becoming closer by each second.

**-o.O.o-**

Jim barely managed to catch Noonien before his body hit the floor; obviously, not even an augment could withstand this long such a great straining tension and come out unscathed.

His soulmate was strong, and not just because his very gene structure had been changed into superhuman one. He was strong, because he fought for those closest to him; he was strong because he endured so much, and he was strong for never giving up.

He hasn’t killed Marcus, which quite surprised Jim, but at the same time, he was relieved by the fact. Carol didn’t deserve to see her father killed before her, even if he was one corrupted and power hungry bastard.

For a fleeting moment Jim allowed himself to linger on the thought what will Chris make out from his own mentor turning so bad.

Now, however, Jim had completely different things to take care of; different person to take care of. Khan Noonien Singh, Augment extraordinaire, developer of super weapons and enormous space ships, and his very own soulmate he spent his whole life searching.

Holding Noonien a bit closer to himself, allowing their cheeks to touch, he felt their soul bond thrumming happily at the closeness.

This would very likely bring even more shit to the already enormous shitstorm the whole affair would have brought up, but at this moment, he just couldn’t care less.

**-o.O.o-**

Ever since he was woken up from his cryogenic sleep, waking up in general had been to open one’s eyes to face yet another nightmare he would never be able to escape. This time, however, there was a warm presence by his side, even before he fully opened his eyes, and it wasn’t threatening.

Right the opposite, actually. The presence, warm and calming, made him want to just keep his eyes closed and go back to sleep, instead of springing into wakefulness, ready for everything.

Amusement floods the link between him and his soulmate.  “I know you are awake,” the voice drifted into his ears, prompting him to open his eyes. 

The first thing his eyes see is a gentle smile, and bright blue eyes, and in that moment Khan can understand the poetic turn of phrase of ‘drowning in the depths of someone’s eyes’, as cliché as it sounds. 

His soulmate holds his hand, the pressure of his fingers light, yet grounding enough so Khan knows he’s not dreaming. “What happened during the time I was… indisposed?” he asks, and the bright blue dims a bit.

“The Starfleet higher ups are beside themselves, and in just those few hours there had been a mighty shitstorm going on. So far, Marcus and several of his closest lackeys can look forward to a very strict court that won’t end nicely for them, Section 31 is under investigation and every tabloid in Federation space has a field day.”

“What about me?” he asks the dreaded question, his voice calm even if inside he’s everything but.

“I don’t know,” Jim confesses, and his fingers tighten about Khan’s. Then he smiles down at the Augment, warmth filling their link. “But whatever happens, I will be there, by your side.”

Khan let the tenderness he felt towards his soulmate show in his eyes, in the very smile he directed on him. The future, no matter how dark or light, gave him hope, as for the first time in centuries his soul was complete.

**Author's Note:**

> And this is where you can tell me what you think about this. C'mon, I dare ya :)


End file.
